According to a study of 947 adults aged 30 to 91, it was found that older adults preferred exercising with people in their own age group to working out with younger adults.

Exercising with peers increased with older adults’ interest in exercise itself, and exercising in groups of adults their own age was more appealing than exercising alone.

Working out has both physical and emotional benefits for all adults, but for older adults it is vital to stay healthy and mobile. Finding the appropriate group setting for regular exercise can help keep seniors motivated and moving.

The study appears in the April issue of Annals of Behavioral Science and was authored by Mark Beauchamp, Ph.D.

Psychologists are finding that there is one thing that improves as we age – our outlook. Sutdies show that as we age, we are more balanced in the way we process emotional information.

Research at the University of Colorado was conducted that studied the way people of different ages reacted to emotionally charged images. The images were viewed for a few seconds only while brain reaction was monitored. Participants clicked a mouse to register which category these images fell into.

The results showed that younger adults pay more attention to emotionally negative images than positive ones. The 55+ age group had different results.

“But the new finding from our study was that the older adults, ages 55 plus, didn’t show this so-called ‘negative bias.’ Instead they tended to show a better balance between paying attention to both negative and positive images.”

The article, Looking at the Sunny Side of Life: Age-Related Change in a Event-Related Potential Measure of the Negativity Bias, is published in the journal Psychological Science.

Getting older provides positive outlook

Exercise holds many benefits in terms of enhanced health and outlook. Exercising our bodies also has a beneficial effect on our brains. Researchers have known for a long time that people who exercise do better on memory tests and now they know why.

Evidence shows that exercise causes the growth of new neurons in the brain. Imaging the brain using MRI, researchers were able to see neurogenesis in the dentate gyrate following exercise. The dentate gyrate is a region in the hippocampus that has previously been linked to age-related memory loss.

Keeping active is the key to good health for our bodies and our minds. For more information read NEW REASON TO HIT THE GYM: FIGHTING MEMORY LOSS.

Movement involves a complex communication system that starts in the brain but, according to a study by University of Delaware researcher Christopher Knight, the message could be fainter when it reaches muscle fibers as we age.

Poor muscular control and reduced muscle attention to commands can lead to injuries and falls, as well as deficits in motor coordination. Firing rates of neurons slows and the ability of the muscles to “hear” the neurons’ commands diminishes. But although these changes come with age, there is something we can do.

Weight and resistance training has been shown to increase the firing rates of neurons, enhancing the muscular response.

“After power training with weights, we see an increase in firing rates,” Knight said. “For safety, we’re commonly advised to do things slowly when exercising, but it’s important to also do some fast exercises. You need a fast movement to prevent a fall. Even in the frail elderly, it is possible to use exercise bands for manual resistance to improve the speed of movement.”

When your brain talks, your muscles don’t always listen